Lughnasadh Rite

by Ravemore

-Cast the Ritual Circle.

-Perform The Sacrament.

Declaration

Kneeling or standing before the altar say:

On this dark night we celebrate sacrifice. The life of our Sun God Lugh is willingly given. His body returns to the fields to nourish the grains that will be planted in the upcoming year and his spirit begins the long journey on the Low Road to the Underworld to await rebirth. This is the holy night we commemorate and give thanks for through the Sacrament, consuming our Lord in body and blood. We pray on this night to the Horned God of the Witches, Great Cernunnos, to watch over Lugh’s journey. Guide him with the eternal fire harbored between your great curved horns. We both mourn and rejoice, for although the Great Sun God has perished… death is not the end.

Opening Invocation

Kneeling or standing before the altar say:

Horned God of the Witches, Great Cernunnos,I utter your name into the darkness.Giver of knowledge, Goat God of the witches, I invoke thee,By standing stone, and twisted tree.By fiery flame and starlight pale,In shadowy hosts that ride the gale.By moonlit meadow and dusky hill,When haunted wood is hushed and still.Come to the tone of chanted prayer,As the moon bewitches the midnight air.Come to us from dark depths below,When the pale white moon is climbing slow. (1)

– Prayers and invocations can be offered to the individual Gods and Goddesses at this time.

Sacrifice

Offer a sacrifice of dried grain stalks or a handful of grain, laying them upon a plate on the altar. Other offerings can also be made if desired. After the circle is opened, the sacrifice can be burned in the bonfire or buried beneath a tree. Wherever it is left, Pour a libation of ale or beer.